Crafting used to be more of hands-on activity, but now you can do it digitally!
Right on a laptop!
So, if that’s news to you, you may next be asking, what are the best laptops for crafting in 2021?
If you’re in a hurry, jump to our Editor’s Picks!
Digital crafting has been taking off and soaring high in popularity as of recent years.
So, if you’re trying to get a piece of this cake, then we are going to help you.
There’s plenty to consider about laptops in general.
When picking one for yourself, there are even more things to consider.
We’ll make sure to go over everything, so you won’t be left with any questions.
In the meantime, however, it’s good to have questions.
The more the better.
You should be asking yourself some questions before even trying to decide which are the best laptops for crafting.
First, and maybe most importantly, what’s your budget?
If yours is limited, that’s good to know.
We’ve included some of the best laptops for crafting across a range of prices so there’s something in here for everyone.
Next, you have to ask some more specific questions.
Like do you have specific things you want to accomplish crafting digitally?
Are there certain specifications you want on your laptop and aren’t willing to compromise?
Think of everything you want, everything you need, and try to prioritize it.
That will help tremendously as we go through these laptops and talk about their specifications and where each one excels.
And get your questions ready as we go through the article.
We’ll be answering them all and giving you all the information you need to answer any other follow-up questions you may end up with.
So, let’s dive in!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Best on a Budget
Asus VivoBook F510QA
This is the most affordable of these laptops and among other nice qualities comes with a large screen.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Best for Portability
Microsoft Surface Pro 6
This is the easiest laptop to take with you anywhere with its slim design and lightest weight of them all, not even reaching 2 pounds.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Most Versatile Option with Big Screen
Lenovo Ideapad 330
This can be more than just a laptop with its versatile nature and also features a huge screen.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Best Option with Lots of RAM
Acer Spin 3
This convertible is another laptop that moves and flips around to be more than just a laptop and another key feature of this is that it has a lot of RAM.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Best for Battery Life
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
This is the perfect blend of lots of power for performance but also long battery life.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Best for Storage
Lenovo Yoga C930
This laptop does plenty of things well with a balance of power, performance, battery life, screen size, but it far exceeds the rest of the pack with its massive amount of storage.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Most Powerful Laptop with a Big Screen
Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE
This is one of the two most powerful laptops here, of the two, this is the one with the biggest screen.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Best Laptop for Crafting | Most Powerful Laptop with a Big Storage
Apple MacBook Pro
This is the other of the two most powerful laptops here, of the two, this is the one with more storage… and also better battery life.
See the review section for in-depth tech details and pros & cons!
Now, we’ll be looking at eight different laptops that are all amazing.
Each one can be named the best crafting laptop depending on who you’re talking to.
But we’re talking to you.
So, let’s answer for you, what are the best laptops for crafting in 2021!
As we said, consider your budget if you have one.
After that, decide what else is important to you.
You’ll want good performance out of your laptop and you’ll know which areas hold more importance to you.
There’s the processor, the RAM, storage drive, graphics card, etc.
Battery life is another thing to consider.
It’s more important for some.
Some people do all their work at home and are always near an outlet so battery life isn’t a big worry.
Others like to work elsewhere, perhaps in a café (where outlets can, at times, be difficult to get a hold of) or even outside in your backyard, getting inspired by nature.
To those people, battery life may be quite a high commodity as they don’t want to hug the wall all day.
The screen size and resolution is another thing that will probably be of some importance to you.
Do you have something in mind?
A number you don’t want to dip below?
And what about the keyboard, touchpad, if you can interact with the screen or not?
Are you someone who is more tactile and those are important?
Can you work just fine with a mouse or do you prefer to have an interactive pen?
Like we mentioned, having lots of questions is good.
And what’s better?
Having lots of answers to those questions.
So, let’s answer all those questions and answer the most important question.
What're the Best Laptops for Crafting in 2021?
Quick Answer:
- Asus VivoBook F510QA | Best Crafting Laptop for Users on a Budget
- Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | Best Crafting Laptop for Portability
- Lenovo Ideapad 330 | Best Versatile Crafting Laptop with a Big Screen
- Acer Spin 3 | Best Versatile Crafting Laptop with Lots of RAM
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | Best Crafting Laptop for Battery Life
- Lenovo Yoga C930 | Best Crafting Laptop with a Big Storage
- Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE | Most Powerful Crafting Laptop with a Big Screen
- Apple MacBook Pro | Most Powerful Crafting Laptop with a Big Storage
Comparison Table for the Best Laptops for Crafting (2021)
| Laptop | View on Amazon | Processor | RAM | Graphics Card | Screen Specs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus VivoBook F510QA | AMD Quad Core A12-9720P | 4GB | AMD Radeon R7 | 15.6 inch HD | |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | 8th Generation Intel Processors | 8GB or 16GB | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | 12.3 inch PixelSense touchscreen display | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad 330 | 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U | 8GB | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | 15.6 inch HD | |
| Acer Spin 3 | 8th Generation Intel core i7-8565U | 16GB | Intel UHD Graphics | 14 inch HD Touchscreen | |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | 7th Generation Intel i5 | 8GB | Intel HD Graphics 620 | 13.5 inch PixelSense HD | |
| Lenovo Yoga C930 | 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U | 16GB | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | 13.9 inch 4K Touchscreen | |
| Asus Zenbook Pro UX550GE | Intel core i7-8750HK | 16GB | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti | 15.6 inch UHD | |
| Apple MacBook Pro | 9th generation 6-Core Intel Core i7 | 16GB | Intel UHD Graphics 630 | 15 inch Retina display |
Best Laptops for Crafting [2021]
1. Asus VivoBook F510QA | Best Crafting Laptop for Users on a Budget
We’ll start with the Asus VivoBook F510QA which happens to be the least expensive laptop on this list.
At around $465 this is a great bargain.
For those of you looking to do some crafting on a budget, this is an excellent choice.
Especially considering what you get with this laptop.
TECH SPECS
You’ll get an AMD Quad Core A12-9720P Processor which is quite powerful especially considering this is a budget option.
And pair that with the AMD Radeon R7 graphics card and you have surpassed the minimum requirements for being able to do some digital crafting.
Of course, these aren’t exactly the most powerful specs on the list, but if you need ‘powerful enough’ then this Asus VivoBook is just what you need.
The 4GBs of DDR4 RAM is admittedly the lowest on this list, but again, it is enough for plenty of people.
But something to keep in mind if you have an idea of what you’re looking for in the RAM department.
A nice plus is that, along with two other laptops on this list, this Asus option has the largest screen at 15.6 inches.
It’s full HD and allows you to have a lot of surfaces to view at a high-quality resolution.
The bezel is a mere 0.3 inches to maximize that viewing area.
You also get an ergonomically designed keyboard, finger sensor, and different modes to view your work in, including a vivid one and one that’s designed for your eyecare.
They really look out for your overall health with this one!
The weight of this laptop is 5.5 pounds.
If that doesn’t sound like much to you, fantastic!
However, it is the heaviest laptop on this list, so it isn’t a super-light option in terms of what’s available.
The battery life can have this laptop last up to 6 hours on a full charge.
That has this laptop ranking on the lower end of our list, but isn’t so bad, especially if you plan on working near your outlets anyway.
And the storage for this low-cost option is 128GB.
Everything on this list sits with 128GB of storage or higher.
But for the budget-minded, this laptop checks off many boxes and maybe one of the best laptops for crafting if you’re trying to stretch your dollar.
Pros
- Affordable
- Good power for low cost
- One of the biggest screens
- Good storage for low cost
Cons
- Heaviest
- Not the best battery life
- Least amount of RAM
2. Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | Best Crafting Laptop for Portability
We move on to the next tier of laptops when it comes to cost.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is the next cheapest, though there’s a bit of a jump from the last laptop to this one.
Costing around $720 this is another great budget option.
And we’ll explore a few laptops in this second tier, but among them, this is the least expensive.
TECH SPECS
The Microsoft Surface Pro 6 has an 8th generation Intel processor and an Integrated Graphics Card allowing you to get some work done crafting.
Most will be quite happy with the power you get here as it can run any photo editing software you may want to use.
In terms of RAM, you have an option between 8GB and 16GB.
8GB is about the median average for what you’ll see on this list and 16GB is right at the top.
Having extra options is always great.
The 12.3-inch PixelSense touchscreen display does turn out to be the smallest screen on this list, so you’ll decide if that’s a deal-breaker or not a problem for you.
But the touchscreen works great and can make crafting a breeze.
Another excellent perk is the weight of 1.7 pounds, making this the lightest laptop on this list.
With its slim design, this is one of the best laptops for crafting in 2021 if you’re looking for something portable and easy to travel with.
Speaking of, the battery life can last all day, even 13.5 hours while you have video playback.
That is more than enough, you can take this thing out and about on a full charge and have plenty of battery to do your work… outside, at the café, where ever.
And it comes with 128GB of storage or if you’re wanting more and willing to shell out some extra money you can also get 256GB of storage.
Pros
- Affordable
- Light and slim
- Best battery life
- Good storage and RAM options
Cons
- Smallest screen
- Decent power but not best for price tier
3. Lenovo Ideapad 330 | Best Versatile Crafting Laptop with a Big Screen
Next, we move on to one of the two options we have from the brand Lenovo.
This is the Lenovo Ideapad 330 which exists in this lower tier in terms of cost.
It’s going to run you around $755 which is great to keep in mind for those working on a budget.
And let’s see what this third-cheapest on our list can provide to you.
TECH SPECS
For a processor, you get an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U and along with that the graphics card is an Intel UHD Graphics 620.
This is a great setup for this lower cost and allows you to craft using photo editing software and the like.
You get just one option for RAM; an 8GB DDR4.
But that should be enough for most.
And here we meet another one of the largest screens on the list!
A 15.6 inch HD screen for those of you that feel the need to see as much of your work as possible… or to see it as large as possible.
This laptop from Lenovo is great for that.
And a rarity in laptops nowadays, this one comes with a DVD drive, which is great if you need to incorporate that into your work at all.
Technically this is the second heaviest laptop on the list with a weight of 4.4 pounds, though it’s over a whole pound lighter than the heaviest.
The battery life on this laptop is the lowest though, lasting about 3.5 – 5 hours.
This is a laptop that will always need to be near an outlet and with the power cord ready if you’re going to be working for hours.
And the available storage is 128GB.
All in all, if you’re looking for a laptop on a budget with some power and a big screen, then this may be the best laptop for crafting for you.
Pros
- Affordable
- Versatile
- One of the biggest screens
- Good storage and RAM for low cost
Cons
- Heavy
- Poor battery life
4. Acer Spin 3 | Best Versatile Crafting Laptop with a Lots of RAM
And now we get to the Acer Spin 3 convertible laptop, the third laptop in this second pricing tier.
This one is on the higher end of the second tier though.
This one will run you about $850, so we’re starting to see these laptops get up there in price, but as it’s under a grand that’s still a good bargain.
Especially for what it brings to the table.
TECH SPECS
This laptop has the 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8565U processor and is paired with an Intel UHD Graphics Card for substantial power.
So, this option from Acer will allow you to work your craft quite easily.
For RAM, you’re working with an impressive 16GB DDR4 that is surely enough.
It has a 14 inch HD touchscreen.
The size is good, but the screen quality is average on this list.
Along with that touchscreen is a stylus you can use to fine-tune and pay attention to details while crafting.
That will be amazing while drawing and modeling.
There are three different modes you can choose to work with this flexible and dynamic laptop, tent, tablet, and display.
So, no matter where you are and whatever is most comfortable for you at the moment, this laptop allows you to achieve that.
With a weight of 3.3 pounds, this is one of the lighter laptops on this list.
And the battery life will last you up to 12 hours which ranks the second-longest amount of time without needing another charge!
Excellent news for those wanting to head out and do their work where ever they please.
And with a storage capacity of 512GB, this is the most storage you can get from these bottom two tiers in terms of cost.
So, if you’re looking for a lot of storage on a budget, then this may be the best laptop for crafting right here!
Pros
- Affordable
- Versatile
- Great storage and RAM especially for cost
- Great battery life
Cons
- Expensive in its price tier
- Screen size isn’t the biggest
5. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 | Best Crafting Laptop for Battery Life
Now, we’re onto what you’d call the third tier in terms of cost for the laptops on this list.
We’re now looking at the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.
This will cost you around $1,100, so as you can see, a decent step up from the last tier as we are now shopping for laptops over a grand.
Let’s see what this one’s capable of.
TECH SPECS
Here the processor you’re working with is a 7th Generation Intel i5 and for a graphics card, it’s paired up with an Intel HD Graphics 620 which is going to be a great combo for you.
Any type of crafting project you’re looking to get into will be easy to work on.
You’ll get 8GBs of RAM which you’re sure to be happy with.
The 13.5 inches PixelSense HD is of great quality and gives plenty of room to work with, however, if the screen size is of large importance to you, keep in mind that this is the second smallest screen on this list.
This laptop is easy to get used to, definitely a great option for beginners.
Not to mention that screen is a touchscreen, so that makes crafting much easier.
The Surface from Microsoft weighs about 2.75 pounds making it the second lightest laptop on this entire list.
Very slim design accompanying that lightweight makes this an excellent travel laptop that can still give you top-notch performance.
The battery life can last up to 11.5 hours which is the third-longest on this list.
As you can see, there are a lot of pros to this laptop, making it one of the all-around best laptops for crafting.
And for the storage, you’ll get 256GB but if that wasn’t enough there’s also a 512GB option which will cost you over $1,200.
Pros
- Good power
- Great battery life
- Very light and slim
- Good storage
Cons
- Not the most powerful in this price tier
- Not enough RAM for price
- Screen size is on the smaller side
6. Lenovo Yoga C930 | Best Crafting Laptop with a Big Storage
Now, we’ll take a look at another laptop from Lenovo.
The Lenovo Yoga C930 is another option in this third tier for cost.
This one will run you around $1,300 which will end up being the last laptop at this price point before we take another big step in cost.
And for this cost, this laptop from Lenovo sure can do a lot.
TECH SPECS
Here, you get the 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8550U Processor paired with a graphics card that’s an Intel UHD Graphics 620 for an excellent performance.
One nice note is though the CPU frequency of this laptop is normally 1.8 GHz, it can hit 4 GHz using Intel Turbo Technology so if there are some heavy-duty projects you want to work on that require some extra push, this laptop can accomplish that.
With 16GBs of DDR4 RAM, you’ll be able to comfortably run any modern software.
And though the size of the screen ranks as the third smallest on this list, it’s a 13.9 inch 4K Touchscreen that is plenty of room for most and is of excellent resolution and overall quality.
And this Yoga from Lenovo has an active pen that you can use on the touchscreen.
A nice plus for all you crafters who feel most comfortable when working pen to paper… you can do just that.
With a weight of 3 pounds, we’re looking at another powerful laptop that is light in weight.
The third lightest on this list, making this one of the best crafting laptops for travel.
The battery life for this laptop is 10 hours which is going to find itself right in the middle of this list.
And really, 10 hours is going to give most people all the time they need for an all-day crafting session.
And for you fans of mass amounts of storage, we’ve saved the best for last.
Storage for the Lenovo Yoga C930 is a whopping 2 TB.
You can’t beat that.
Also, a 1 TB option is available for about $100 less.
So, if the best laptops for crafting to you means the laptops with the most amount of storage along with some other choice details, then this laptop should be lighting up in your eyes right now.
Pros
- Great amount of power and RAM for price tier
- Amazing storage
- One of the lighter laptops
- Good battery life
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
- Though it has a great 4K Touchscreen, screen size is on the smaller side
7. Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE | Most Powerful Crafting Laptop with a Big Screen
Now, onto some big guns.
Our next laptop we will review is the Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE.
This laptop will cost about $2,000.
As you can see we have jumped to the fourth tier for cost, so now let’s jump onto the details.
TECH SPECS
Here you’ll get an 8th generation intel core i7-8750HK Processor paired with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphics card for superior performance.
The speed is beyond impressive and you can run any program you need to for crafting.
How about the 16GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM?
Oh yeah, that’s a nice feature.
And the 15.6 inch UHD touchscreen display is of incredible quality and is one of the three laptops on this list tied for the largest screen.
The battery life is in the neighborhood of 5-6 hours.
Although, charging about 60% of the battery only takes 50 minutes.
So, the battery may drain quickly but it can be recharged quickly as well, which gives you a nice trade-off.
The weight is 4.2 pounds putting it a tad on the heavier side.
And for storage, you get 512GB which is a nice size storage unit right there.
Large screen, a hefty amount of RAM, good storage, this powerful laptop is one of the best laptops for crafting for those who want to go big in many categories.
Pros
- Top-notch processor and Graphics card
- Excellent RAM
- Great amount of storage
- One of the biggest screens
Cons
- Expensive
- Heavy
- Poor battery life
8. Apple MacBook Pro | Most Powerful Crafting Laptop with a Big Storage
Lastly, we get to the Apple MacBook Pro.
For all you Apple fans out there, don’t worry, we got you covered too.
Apple is a big-name brand that we have to include and the MacBook Pro here will cost around $2,200.
It is the most expensive laptop on our list, but for Apple fans and digital crafting fans alike, it has a lot to offer you.
TECH SPECS
You’ll get the 9th generation 6-Core Intel Core i7 processor paired with a graphics card that’s an Intel UHD Graphics 630 for premium power and speed.
This laptop can help you out with any crafting project and any crafting program you want to run.
16GBs of RAM is an excellent feature with this MacBook.
And the 15-inch Retina display is of incredible quality and is one of the larger screen sizes on this list.
So, you’ll have an easier time viewing your work.
Some other features that users love about this laptop are the Touch Bar and Touch ID.
Quite the laptop for the tactile user.
The battery life for this Apple MacBook Pro is 10 hours which is going to give you lots of time with your work.
The weight is about 4.3 pounds, a bit on the heavy side, but usually, something people are willing to forgive considering all the great qualities.
It has 512GBs of SSD storage.
You can also get a 1 TB option for a bit more.
So, storage really shouldn’t be a problem for you if you get this excellent crafting laptop.
Pros
- Capable processor
- Excellent RAM
- Excellent amount of storage
- Good battery life
Cons
- Expensive
- Heavy
- Not the biggest screen size for its price
Best Laptops for Crafting — Buyers Guide
As you can see, we have eight different laptops that all bring a little something different to the table.
All of them are some of the best laptops for crafting without a doubt.
But you still want to pinpoint the one that will be the absolute best crafting laptop for you.
We’re now going to answer some frequently asked questions on this subject.
Then, you’ll be able to tell which one will fit best with you.
Send in the questions!
What are the best crafting laptops for travelers?
The good news is, not one of these laptops weighs more than 6 pounds, so really any of them can be traveled with quite well.
But for the very best, and for people who don’t have a lot of extra space or are trying to avoid every bit of weight, the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is the very lightest and has quite a slender design making it the best for travel.
Other great options include the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 and the Lenovo Yoga C930 as they are the next two lightest laptops and also feature slim designs.
What are the best crafting laptops in terms of storage?
When crafting many people need to have a lot of room as they have a lot of work to save and then can start to eat up space.
The most storage available comes from the Lenovo Yoga C930 and the Apple MacBook Pro.
Plenty of other laptops have plentiful storage as well, but these two are the kings of storage.
What are the best crafting laptops in terms of battery power?
Battery life can be an important detail when working on a project, the last thing you want to be thinking of is dealing with charging your laptop.
One laptop where it’s almost impossible to EVER have to worry about the battery is the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with its 13.5 hours of battery life even with continuous videos playing!
The second and third runners-up would be the Acer Spin 3 with 12 hours of battery life and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 with 11.5 hours.
These two last a long while on a single charge and satisfy most all-day crafters.
What are the best crafting laptops with the biggest screens?
Here, we have a three-way tie for 15.6-inch screens.
The budget-friendly Asus VivoBook F510QA and the powerful Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE and the Lenovo Ideapad 330 splits the difference between the two laptops from Asus.
If a big screen is your number one priority, any of these selections will do.
To find the very best for you, decide what is your second-biggest priority, then go from there, as these three laptops differ in several areas.
What are the best crafting laptops if I want power and performance?
The best performance you’ll get will come from the Apple MacBook Pro and the Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE.
Both have fantastic processors and graphics cards and are sure to never disappoint.
Best Laptops for Crafting — Conclusion
You can see by now that each laptop excels in different areas.
So, there is no true best laptop for crafting that fits everyone.
Everyone is different.
You need a list of your priorities and then you can easily decide.
The budget is always a good place to start.
If you have one and you know what it is, then you know what price ranges to look in.
After that, think about what’s most important.
Power and performance?
Screen size?
Battery life?
Weight and ability to travel?
Storage?
What’s great is, if you only care about one of those things then you can easily pick a clear-cut laptop.
But you should make sure to decide if you have a second most important feature, third most important, etc.
If you want power, the Apple MacBook Pro and the Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE are the best.
But if the second most important thing on your list is battery life, definitely choose the Apple MacBook Pro, if it’s screen size, the Asus ZenBook Pro UX550GE has the edge.
If the most important thing is the ability to travel easily, the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 are the lightest and slimmest.
If the next most important thing to you is your budget, then you’d want the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 but if you prefer more storage over saving money, then choose the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3.
Your list of priorities won’t probably look like someone else’s.
But rest assured that regardless of your final choice, you can’t really go wrong with any of the laptops on this list.
So, happy shopping!
